Bergen Group to build two cruise ferries for Fjord Line

Fjord Line has signed a Euros 206 million contract with Norway's Bergen Group to build two new cruise ferries. The ships will be delivered in the spring and fall of 2012, and will each have a length of 170 meters. Each ship will have about 300 cabins,a large proportion of them suites, and have space for about 1,500 passengers. The cargo deck has a capacity of up to 600 cars.

The hulls will be built at the Stocznia Gdansk shipyard in Poland. All outfitting and finishing work will be performed at Bergen Group Fosen. The Fosen yard's portfolio includes the residential cruise ship The World, and two of the newer ships operated by Hurtigruten.

The contract between Fjord Line Danmark AS and Bergen Group Fosen AS is subject to final funding and approval of the companies' respective boards within 30 days from contract signing.

"We have for a long time been in the market for used tonnage as a supplement to MS Bergenfjord, but the assessment concluded that construction of two new vessels will give us the best competitive edge on the service between Western Norway and Denmark," commented Fjord Line CEO Ingvald Fardal. He said the contract had been signed in Bergen on Tuesday evening. "We are in positive discussions with our banks, GIEK (Guarantee Institute for Export Credits) and Eksportfinans regarding loans and guarantees, and hope to have all the formalities in place by the end of March," he added.

Each vessel will have a deadweight of 4,000 tons, and a total length of 170 meters, as compared to the 135 m length of Fjord Line's Trollfjord.

The vessels will have capacity to carry 600 cars in the roll-on/roll-off cargo bay, or a lower number of cars in combination with larger trucks and cargo. The ships will offer restaurants, cafes, duty free shops and well-equipped facilities for meetings, functions and conferences.

The ships' design is by Bergen Group Ship design and Bergen Group Fosen. The ships' naval architect, Finn Falkum Hansen. has also designed two of the ships in the Hurtigruten coastal service, the Trollfjord and the Midnatsol.

Fjord Line says the new cruise ferries will be equipped with fuel-efficient engines and that environmentally harmful emissions to air and water will be minimal